papaflamingo

Excellent point.

Let me just add.... you can actually deviate and still arrive on the day of your cruise if you want (any day actually). You pick your flights up to 210 days out (remember there's a $175 fee pp to deviate) and get seat assignments (on many airlines). Also your return. If you do choose to arrive the day of the cruise (or a day early if you have a free hotel night), you can still use Regent transportation. If you arrive early you do not get transportation from the airport. We were supposed to be on a cruise that ended in Rome a couple months ago (had to cancel due to Covid...long story). I deviated our flight home from Rome 210 days out, but since we were going direct to the airport from the ship, I had Regent transportation from the ship to the airport. Anyway, just thought I'd mention this. Deviation is ALWAYS the way to go in my opinion.

We just got off Mariner on Tues. (Dec. 12). We were in cabin 1020. The only toilet issue, as previously mentioned, was one morning in port. Toilets, presumably ship wide and likely for repair, stopped just as we were leaving on our shore excursion. Arrived back and all was well. They did announce, also mentioned earlier, that the system would be shut down from midnight to 2 am for repairs one night. Other than that, absolutely no problems. Is the ship "dated?" Yup. My wife felt that it had areas that smelled like they'd had a water issue that went deep into the carpet. I didn't smell it, but I can't hear well either so.....🤷‍♂️. But the ship does need refurbishing. No big deal for me, I loved the cruise. The service was generally excellent, an occasional "blip" that could be understaffing or sick crew members. But all in all, everyone was more than cheerful, running hard, and absolutely eager to please. We had one "hiccup" when our Prime 7 reservation wasn't in the system. Not a big deal at all, we simply went to Compass Rose and had a great steak, etc. Anyway, my wife jokingly mentioned it to our waiter, Monica, that we were "doing our own Prime 7." She said she'd get us in the next night, and with in 5 minutes the Restaurant GM showed up also saying we'd get in! We were actually ok with not going as we're on Granduer in 3 or so weeks. Anyway, we had a nice Prime 7 dinner and a wonderful time. The crew, as usual, fell all over themselves trying to please. As for shore excursions. We enjoyed them all. Did one "bus" tour in Puerto Plata that I thought was an interesting overview of the history of the island. Then did a Rainforest visit in San Juan, Catamaran sail and swim in St. Barts, River tubing in Dominican Republic (very fun), Sting Ray City in Antigua, and a visit and hike through the boulders at the Baths in Virgin Gorda. All were great tours and we really had a great time. So, if you know that the ship is a bit worn, and the issues that they may have then I think anyone would enjoy the ship. Having said that, we are booked in Oct. 2025, the last cruise BEFORE the dry dock (or so it looks looking at the schedule). We are a bit apprehensive as we know she'll be more "worn," and they won't be doing a lot of touch ups, etc. since she'll be going immediately into a major 3 week dry dock period. Problem is, this is a "make up" cruise for the "ill fated" Israel/Egypt cruise on Voyager. "Luckily" I woke up with Covid on the day we were leaving for Athens, so obviously cancelled. Fortunately I had the cruise insured. We booked Mariner in Oct. 2025 from Barcelona to Barcelona for 32 nights as the "makeup" cruise. Now knowing that it'll be her last cruise before dry dock, we may reconsider. But if it's the only way we can go to Israel and Egypt then we'll simply go with reasonable expectations and have a fabulous time. Otherwise we may push it to 2026.

So sorry to hear. Sending thoughts and prayers that all goes well and we will meet aboard a Regent ship soon.

The $75 is only if you choose NOT to deviate. If you find your flights unacceptable, call Custom Air to deviate and find new flights the $75 fee is applied to your $175 custom air deviation charge. I talked to the Regent agent when I deviated a few months ago and she said the charge significantly reduced wait times for those who are truly planning a deviation.

Correct. But only one time. So if you cancel, and book a new cruise it'll show as $100 FCC. If you cancel the second cruise, you lose the $100 FCC regardless of booking another cruise or not.

The night in a hotel is separate from your air arrangements. So you can deviate, and as stated above, do 3 days, then "check in" for your included night and transport from the hotel to the port.

We had it on Navigator last year (2022).

Thank you... but I'm pretty sure my wife will disagree about me being a "voice of reason" (a few people on here too). 😜 Definitely looking forward to Grandeur. if you happen to see me, for sure say hello! 😎

Food is very subjective. We were on Navigator in 2022 for 40 nights and loved every part of the cruise. The food was great! Then again, I didn't get this "sexy body" by being picky. So maybe I'm just easier to please. But to your comment that you "don’t get any value out of expensive paintings and statues," I would bet that isn't true. I've sailed on Carnival and thought the food and service was wonderful. But the decor of the ships, to me, is very "Las Vegas" like. Lots of neon and glitz. No luxury at all. And I bet if Regent took your advice, sold off all the artwork, got rid of the beautiful decor, put cheaper furniture in the cabins, even keeping the comfortable beds, put in basic dining tables, no flowers, no linen table cloths, no Versace chargers, cheaper glassware, etc. but "upped" the service and food to your specifications, then you'd be wondering what's so "luxurious" about a ship with none of the above mentioned decor and luxury? So honestly, at least for me, I want all the beautiful and upscale decor. I want to feel I'm sailing in a high class ship. Otherwise I'd book Carnival.

We did Iceland in 2022 on Navigator. Started in Montreal then to NYC then to Southampton via Iceland (40 nights). Stopped in Akureyri, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik. Were supposed to stop at Eskifjordur also but couldn't get in due to winds. It was a great cruise! Lots of waterfalls and a bit chilly, but really enjoyed the cruise.

No. From the website "Irons/Ironing Boards and Steamers are not permitted onboard". But every ship has laundry rooms where you can iron if you want and laundry is included so if you need something pressed you can either iron it or sent it out to be done for no charge. Here is a link to all prohibited items, https://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/you-sail#:~:text=Guests are not permitted to,Steamers are not permitted onboard.

A few answers: "How much does picking your flights cost?" The Deviation fee is $175 per person plus any up charge that MAY occur. You can deviate 210 days before your cruise and it's highly recommended you do so. You will be charged a single $75 fee to talk to the Air Department, but that will be included in one of the $175 deviation fees if you choose to accept a deviation. If you choose to do this, research flights and have 3 or so options that you are most interested in and don't hesitate to ask the agents anything as they are very willing to help. Once you agree on flights you are booked at that point, and the agent can usually pick your seats for you on the spot. You can then enter the reservation number into the airlines website and change seats, etc. if you want. Also watch your flights as airlines very often make changes and you may not be notified as the cruise approaches. If they do and you need to change, you can call Regent air for free and discuss options. "If you don't use their air but stay in a concierge suite do you still get the hotel stay?" Yes. And if you don't want the hotel stay you get $150 per person off the price of the cruise. "The black Friday sale took about $4,000 each off the fare which made it more attractive. Having not followed Regent is this likely to occur again?" Yes, but in my experience, prices usually rise more than they reduce for a sale, and the ships sell out very quickly. So if there's a cruise you want to book, book it. Otherwise you run a very great risk that the cruise will both go up in price and also sell out. The sales seem to be on the less popular cruises only, and if your cruise does go on sale after you booked it you should be able to take advantage of the reduced price (note "should"), but you have to also factor in any OBC, etc. that you'll lose if you reprice the cruise. Remember, if you cancel a cruise your only lose $100 per person and that is available as Future Cruise Credit (one change only, then you will lose it if you cancel) if you book within a year. "What surprised you?" How much I really enjoy the small luxury cruise experience, and how incredible the crew members are. How personal the service is and I have never seen a crew member that isn't smiling or more than willing to please.

Wait.... husbands get opinions??? 😜

Thanks. Interesting.

If you haven't already, read this thread on here "Thoughts from the Current Tokyo to Bangkok Explorer Cruise." It talks about Explorer and some of the issues you mentioned. As you follow the thread the posts all talk about how after a few days of "confusion" the food and service improved. Honestly, we have noticed that the first day or two of a cruise can have slower wait times, etc. The crew has a lot to do on turnaround day and there are frequently new crew members joining the cruise. This simply leads to some slowdown in service but it only lasts a day or so, and no, I have never discussed this with anyone. I simply let it work out which, so far, it always has. But your comment that you "don’t relish having to seek out F & B managers to air concerns" should not be your concern, on the contrary, if you have issues you should definitely bring them up with the appropriate supervisors. Otherwise no one will know about the issue and you may not ever get it resolved. As you can see reading through the referenced thread, Regent "falls all over themselves" trying to correct ANY issue that a passenger has. They only have to know the issue has occurred.

Here are two links to YouTube videos of both the tours. They will show you what to expect. But as you'll see, on the Dolphin Encounter you'll be standing on a platform, and the Dolphin swim you'll be wearing life vests. Stingray Sandbar is only waist deep, so no swimming required at either event, and no snorkels or masks. I would think that one group will go to the Stingray Sandbar while the other group is at the Dolphin Cove. Otherwise I would think it'd be too crowded at the Dolphin Cove. But don't know for sure.

Thanks for the info. I really want to do the Antarctic so we look at the options. Ponant has looked pretty interesting from the shows I've seen.

I have watched a few tv shows featuring Ponant cruises. I was wondering... how did you like cruising with them? They do seem to be a pretty good way to see Antarctica.

Married flight segments are dictated by the airlines, not Regent. The only way for Regent to separate them is to cancel the booking and book each segment as separate flights. That results, generally, in large fare increases as the flights are two separate flights.

What issues did you have? We are on Explorer in Feb. so sincere question. If you started a thread can you link me to it? Thanks

We have a fairly tight connection in Feb. and I talked to Regent Air today about it. They suggested that if we miss the connection we go directly to the airlines. There is also an After Hours number on your Boarding Pass for Regent Air that you can call. It's in the "Terminal Arrival" section.

I was just curious. The OP says "How can the top cruise line have tours where every guide (except in Busan, Korea) has problems communicating in English?" I was wondering if other cruise lines have the same issues or not. Seems like a fair question, doesn't it?

I was a career airline pilot. One day we had along delay going to LaGuardia in New York. A passenger told me that it was "clear at my house." I asked "how long and wide is your driveway?" She looked at me totally puzzled. My point was, it may be clear at her house, and even the airport (it was), but the arrival and departure routes were "slammed" with horrible weather. The winds may not seem "bad" now, but I'm pretty sure the Captain knows best. That's why he's there.

Yes..... if you look at the comment above the pricing it states "Fares below reflect all Featured Special Offer savings."